View source for Sark

{{short description|Island in the southwestern English Channel}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Pp-move-indef}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox dependency
| name = Sark
| native_name = {{lang|nrf|Sèr}} / {{lang|nrf|Cerq}} ([[Sercquiais]])<br/>{{native name|fr|Sercq}}
| settlement_type = [[Bailiwick of Guernsey|Jurisdiction of the Bailiwick of Guernsey]]
| linking_name = Sark
| image_flag = Flag_of_Sark_(bordered).svg
| flag_size = 130px
| flag_link = Flag of Sark
| image_seal = Coat of arms of Sark.svg
| seal_size = 80px
| seal_type = [[Flag and coat of arms of Normandy|Coat of arms]]
| anthem = "[[God Save the King]]"{{Efn|"God Save the King" is the [[national anthem]] by custom, not statute, and there is no authorised version. Typically only the first verse is usually sung, although the second verse is also often sung as well at state and public events.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Anthem |url=https://www.royal.uk/encyclopedia/national-anthem |access-date=10 April 2024 |website=The Royal Family |archive-date=20 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520130352/https://www.royal.uk/encyclopedia/national-anthem |url-status=live }}</ref> The words ''King, he, him, his'', used at present, are replaced by ''Queen, she, her'' when the monarch is female.}}<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:United States Navy Band - God Save the Queen.ogg|God Save the King / Queen <!-- Do not change file name due to computer error without ensuring that the file is playable. -->]]</div>
| image_map = {{Bailiwick of Guernsey location map|Sark}}
| mapsize = 
| map_alt = Location of Sark
| map_caption = {{map caption|location=circled |region = the [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]] |region_color=red}}
| image_map2 = Guernsey-Sark.png
| mapsize2 = 
| map_alt2 = Map of Sark within the Bailiwick
| map_caption2 = Map of Sark within the Bailiwick
| subdivision_type = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name = United Kingdom
| subdivision_type2 = [[Crown Dependencies|Crown Dependency]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]]
| established_title = Separation from the [[Duchy of Normandy]]
| established_date = 1204
| established_title2 = [[Fief]] granted to [[Hellier de Carteret]]
| established_date2 = 1565
| established_title3 = {{nowrap|[[2008 Sark general election|Feudalism abolished]]}}
| established_date3 = 9 April 2008
| official_languages = English
| regional_languages = [[Sercquiais]]
| capital =
| coordinates =
| largest_city =
| ethnic_groups =
| demonym =
| government_type = [[Self-government|Self-governing]] [[Dependent territory|dependency]] under a [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1 = [[Duke of Normandy]]
| leader_name1 = [[Charles III]]
| leader_title2 = [[Seigneur of Sark|Seigneur]]
| leader_name2 = [[Christopher Beaumont, 23rd Seigneur of Sark|Christopher Beaumont]]
| legislature1 = [[#Chief Pleas|Chief Pleas]]
| legislature2 = [[States of Guernsey]]
| national_representation = [[Government of the United Kingdom]]
| national_representation_type1 = [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice|Minister]]
| national_representation1 = [[Alison Levitt, Baroness Levitt|Baroness Levitt]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-06 |title=Ministerial appointments: September 2025 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-5-september-2025 |access-date=2025-10-31 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>
| area_km2 = 5.45
| percent_water =
| elevation_max_m =
| population_estimate = 
| population_estimate_rank = 
| population_estimate_year = 
| population_census = 562<ref>{{cite report |author=Chief Pleas |date=2023 |title=Report on the 2022 Sark Census |url=https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/5ff82f30-38d7-4ae5-98f1-e93b4ee65820/downloads/ITEM%2000%20-%20P%26F%20Census%202022%20Report%20CENSUS%20REPORT.pdf?ver=1735639335352 |publisher=Chief Pleas |page=4 |access-date=1 January 2025}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2023
| population_density_km2 = 103
| population_density_sq_mi = 
| population_density_rank = 
| currency = {{ubl|[[Guernsey pound]]{{efn|The Guernsey pound is not a separate currency, but a local issue of standard pound sterling.}}|[[Pound sterling]] (£)}}
| currency_code = GBP
| timezone = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]
| utc_offset = ±00:00
| timezone_DST = [[British Summer Time|BST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +01:00
| date_format = dd/mm/yyyy
| drives_on = left
| calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom#Guernsey|+44]]
| postal_code_type = [[Postcodes in the United Kingdom#Crown Dependencies|UK postcode]]
| postal_code = [[GY postcode area|GY10]]
| iso_code = [[ISO 3166-2:GG|GG]] ([[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2#CQ|CQ]] reserved)<ref name="ISO">{{Cite web |title=ISO 3166: CQ |url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:code:3166:CQ}}</ref>
| cctld = [[.gg]] ([[.cq]] reserved)
}}
'''Sark''' ([[Sercquiais]]: {{lang|nrf|Sèr}} or {{lang|nrf|Cerq}}, {{Langx|fr|Sercq}}) is an island in the southwestern [[English Channel]], off the coast of [[Normandy]], and part of the [[archipelago]] of the [[Channel Islands]]. It is part of the [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]], a self-governing British [[Crown Dependencies|Crown Dependency]], with its own set of laws based on [[Norman law]], and its own parliament.<ref>{{Cite letter |last=Morris |first=Caroline |recipient=Policy Development Team, Sark Chief Pleas |date=11 December 2018 |access-date=20 October 2023 |title=Constitutional Status of Sark |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/628f88c874f4f647bd6b4617/t/646ddf119771881e3b034066/1684922130048/Constitutional+status+of+Sark-2018+by+Dr+Carolie+Morris.pdf |language=en}}</ref> It was a royal [[fief]]dom until 2008, when the [[Constitution of Sark]] went into effect.

Sark has a population of about 500.<ref name="jerseyeveningpost.com">{{Cite news |date=9 April 2015 |title=Too many people – or not enough? Jersey's population dilemma |url=https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2015/04/09/too-many-people-or-not-enough-jerseys-population-dilemma/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713231800/https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2015/04/09/too-many-people-or-not-enough-jerseys-population-dilemma/ |archive-date=13 July 2018 |work=[[Jersey Evening Post]]}}</ref> Including the nearby island of [[Brecqhou]], it has an area of {{convert|2.10|sqmi|km2|2}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 January 2014 |title=The official website for the Island of Sark |url=http://www.sark.co.uk |access-date=1 February 2014 |publisher=Sark Tourism}}</ref> [[Little Sark]] is a peninsula joined by a natural but high and very narrow [[isthmus]] to the rest of Sark Island.

Sark is one of the few places in the world where [[List of car-free islands|cars are banned from roads]], and only tractors, bicycles, and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walden |first=Lisa |date=16 August 2020 |title=The idyllic car-free island of Sark is looking for 500 new residents |url=https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a33602514/island-sark-new-residents/ |access-date=6 August 2021 |website=Country Living}}</ref> In 2011, Sark was designated as a [[Dark-sky preserve|Dark Sky Community]] and the first Dark Sky Island in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Palca |first=Joe |date=February 2011 |title=Lights Out: Tiny Sark Named First 'Dark-Sky' Island |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/02/01/133401367/lights-out-tiny-sark-named-first-dark-sky-island |access-date=6 August 2021 |work=NPR}}</ref>

==Geography and geology==
[[File:Sark Coupee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|La Coupée]]

Sark consists of two main parts, Greater Sark, located at about {{coord|49|25|N|2|22|W}}, and [[Little Sark]] to the south. They are connected by a narrow [[isthmus]] called La Coupée which is {{convert|300|ft}} long and has a drop of {{convert|330|ft}} on each side.<ref name="islandlife.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.islandlife.org/sark.htm |title=Sark Home Page |publisher=Island Life |date=10 December 2008 |access-date=7 December 2012}}</ref> Protective [[Guard rail|railing]]s were added in 1900; before then, children would crawl across on their hands and knees to avoid being blown over the edge. A narrow concrete road covering the entirety of the isthmus was built in 1945 by German [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] under the direction of the [[Royal Engineers]]. Due to its isolation, the inhabitants of Little Sark had their distinct form of [[Sercquiais]], the native [[Norman language|Norman dialect]] of the island.<ref name="Sercquiais"/>

[[File:Sark windmill working.jpg|thumb|"Le Moulin" windmill, [[Wiktionary:circa|c.]]&nbsp;1905]]

The highest point on Sark is {{convert|374|ft}} [[above sea level]].<ref name="islandlife.org"/> A [[Windmills in the Channel Islands|windmill]], dated 1571, is found there, the sails of which were removed during World War II. This high point is named ''[[Le Moulin]]'', after the windmill. The location is also the highest point in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Little Sark had a number of mines accessing a source of [[galena]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mindat.org/locentry-5464.html|title=Galena from Le Pelley's Shaft, Little Sark, Channel Islands|publisher=[[mindat.org|Hudson Institute of Mineralogy]]|access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref> At Port Gorey, the ruins of silver mines<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uk-fusion.com/content/view/917/48/ |title=Sark (Channel Islands) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420194139/http://www.uk-fusion.com/content/view/917/48/ |website=uk-fusion.com |archive-date=20 April 2008  }}</ref> may be seen. Off the south end of Little Sark are the Venus Pool and the Adonis Pool, both natural swimming pools whose waters are refreshed at high tide.

The whole island is extensively penetrated at sea level by natural cave formations that provide unique habitats for many marine creatures, notably sea anemones, some of which are only safely accessible at low tide.

Sark is made up mainly of [[amphibolite]] and [[granite]] [[gneiss]] rocks, intruded by igneous magma sheets called [[quartz diorite]]. Recent (1990–2000)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Brent V|last2=Samson|first2=Scott D|last3=D'Lemos|first3=Richard S|title=Time span of plutonism, fabric development, and cooling in a Neoproterozoic magmatic arc segment: U–Pb age constraints from syn-tectonic plutons, Sark, Channel Islands, UK|journal=Tectonophysics|date=October 1999|volume=312|issue=1|pages=79–95|doi=10.1016/S0040-1951(99)00172-9|bibcode=1999Tectp.312...79M|doi-access=free}}</ref> geological studies and rock age-dating by geologists from [[Oxford Brookes University]] shows that the gneisses probably formed around 620–600&nbsp;million years ago during the Late Pre-Cambrian Age [[Cadomian Orogeny]]. The quartz diorite sheets were intruded during this Cadomian deformation and metamorphic event.

All the Sark rocks (and those of the nearby Channel Islands of [[Guernsey]] and [[Alderney]]) formed during geological activity in the continental crust above an ancient [[subduction]] zone. This geological setting would have been analogous to the modern-day subduction zone of the Pacific Ocean plate colliding and subducting beneath the North and South American continental plate.

Sark also exercises jurisdiction over the island of [[Brecqhou]], only a few hundred feet west of Greater Sark. It is a [[private island]], but it has recently been opened to some visitors. From 1993 Brecqhou was owned by the brothers [[David and Frederick Barclay]], until David Barclay died in 2021 and Frederick Barclay became sole owner. The brothers contested Sark's control over the island. The candidates endorsed by their various business interests on the island failed to win any seats in the elections held in [[2008 Sark general election|2008]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Sark goes to the polls|url=http://www.thisisguernsey.com/latest/2010/12/08/sark-goes-to-the-polls/|website=[[Guernsey Press|This is Guernsey]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524182841/http://www.thisisguernsey.com/latest/2010/12/08/sark-goes-to-the-polls/|archive-date=24 May 2013|date=8 December 2010}}</ref> and [[2010 Sark general election|2010]].<ref>{{cite web|author1=<!--staff byline-->|title=Sark and the Barclays Brothers |work=Indymedia Ireland|url=http://www.indymedia.ie/article/102039|access-date=4 December 2017|date=29 June 2012}}</ref>

==Toponymy==

===Old records===
''Sark'' is probably first mentioned in the [[Antonine Itinerary]] (''Itinerarium Antonini Augusti'', part II: ''itinerarium maritimum'') 3rd – 4th century AD together with the other main [[Channel Islands]] as ''Sarnia'', ''Caesarea'', ''Barsa'', ''Silia'' and ''Andium'', but it is unclear to which it refers. It has been suggested that ''Silia'' referred to ''Sark''.<ref name=Lepelley>{{cite journal |first=René |last=Lepelley |title=Les Noms des îles anglo-normandes |journal=Nouvelle revue d'onomastique |trans-title=The Names of the Channel Islands |date=1995 |volume=25 |issue=25–26 |pages=119–142 |doi=10.3406/onoma.1995.1221 |language=fr |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/onoma_0755-7752_1995_num_25_1_1221}}</ref>{{rp|131–132}} The earliest record to evoke possibly the name of ''Sark'' are the ''Life of Saint Samson'' and the ''Life of Saint Magloire'', bishops of [[Dol-de-Bretagne]]. They spell it ''Sargia'',<ref name=Beaurepaire>{{cite journal |first=François |last=de Beaurepaire |title=Nouveaux regards sur la toponymie des îles normandes de la Manche |trans-title=New Perspectives on the Toponymy of the Norman Channel Islands |journal=Nouvelle revue d'onomastique |date=1994 |volume=23 |issue=23–24 |pages=31–44 |doi=10.3406/onoma.1994.1189 |language=fr |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/onoma_0755-7752_1994_num_23_1_1189}}</ref> with the neighbouring island ''Bissargia'',<ref name=Beaurepaire/>{{rp|41}} all the other documents are from the 11th to the 12th century and the forms are: ''Serc, Serch, Sercum, Serco''.<ref name=Lepelley/>{{rp|124}}

===Etymology===
[[Richard Coates]] has suggested that in the absence of a [[Proto-Indo-European]] etymology it may be worthwhile looking for a [[Proto-Semitic]] source for the name.<ref>{{cite book |title=The ancient and modern names of the Channel Islands: a linguistic history |last=Coates |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Coates |publisher=Paul Watkins |year=1991 |isbn=978-1871615166 |location=Stamford |pages=73–76}}</ref><ref name=glimpse>{{cite book |title=Names in Multi-Lingual, Multi-Cultural and Multi-Ethnic Contact: Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences: August 17‒22, York University, Toronto, Canada |last=Coates |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Coates |publisher=York University |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-55014-521-2 |location=Toronto |chapter=A Glimpse through a Dirty Window into an Unlit House: Names of Some North-West European Islands |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407205627/http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/3642/icos23_228.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2015 |editor-last=Ahrens |editor-last2=Embleton |editor-first=Wolfgang |editor-first2=Sheila |editor-last3=Lapierre |editor-first3=André |chapter-url=http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/3642/icos23_228.pdf |page=228}}</ref> He proposes a comparison between the probable root of Sark, ''*Sarg-'', and [[Proto-Semitic]] ''*śrq ''"redden; rise (as of the sun); east", noting Sark's position as the easternmost island of the [[Guernsey]] group.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Names in Multi-Lingual, Multi-Cultural and Multi-Ethnic Contact: Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences: August 17‒22, York University, Toronto, Canada |last=Coates |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Coates |publisher = York University|year = 2009|isbn = 978-1-55014-521-2 |location=Toronto |page=235 |chapter=A Glimpse through a Dirty Window into an Unlit House: Names of Some North-West European Islands |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407205627/http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/3642/icos23_228.pdf#page=8 |archive-date=7 April 2015 |editor-last=Ahrens |editor-last2=Embleton |editor-first=Wolfgang |editor-first2=Sheila |editor-last3=Lapierre |editor-first3=André |chapter-url=http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/3642/icos23_228.pdf#page=8}}</ref> His theory is based on the early medieval Latin records mentioning ''Sargia'', but many Islands more or less close to Sark have a Latin name ending with ''-gia'', such as ''Angia'' (Channel Island), [[Oye-Plage]] ([[Pas-de-Calais]], ''Ogia'' 8th century) and [[Île-d'Yeu]] ([[Vendée]], former ''Augia''). Later records all mention ''Serc-'' and not ''*Sark'', that seem to result from a later anglicising of the /er/ group (compare French {{Lang|fr|merveille}} > English ''marvel''; French {{Lang|fr|Clerc}} / English ''clerk'', ''clark'' cf. Clark). The traditional pronunciation of ''Sark'' in the native Norman language is ''sèr'' {{IPA|[sɛr]}}, with regular fall of final {{IPA|[k]}} like {{Lang|fr|clerc}} in French.<ref name=Lepelley/>{{rp|124}} Finally, no specialist ever identified any Proto-Semitic element in the French coastal toponymy, even on the French mediterranean side. [[René Lepelley]] suggests a Scandinavian etymology that would explain the regular and late records of the root ''Serc-'' in the documents, according to him, it could be Old Norse ''serkr'' "shirt".<ref name=Lepelley/>{{rp|124}} He compares with the name given to an island or a mountain by Vikings sailing from [[Norway]] to [[Greenland]]: ''Hvítserkr'' cf. [[Hvitserk]], maybe [[Mount Forel]],<ref name=Lepelley/>{{rp|124}} so [[Old Saxon]] ''*Serki'' or Old Norse {{Lang|non|Serkr}} > ''Serc'' could have been a descriptive landmark for Saxon or Scandinavian sailors. In addition [[Norman toponymy]] reveals a mixture of (Anglo-)Saxon and Old Norse (Old Danish) place name elements. The Old English form of {{Lang|ang|sark}} "shirt" (related to Old Norse {{Lang|non|serkr}}) is precisely ''serċ, syrċ'' > Middle English {{Lang|enm|serk}}, {{Lang|enm|serke}}, {{Lang|enm|sark}} (through the Anglian variant).

==History==
[[File:Carriage - Sark.jpg|thumb|A horse-drawn [[carriage]] on Sark]]

===Early history===
In ancient times, Sark was almost certainly occupied by the [[Unelli]], the [[Gauls|Gallic tribe]] of the [[Cotentin Peninsula]]. These people were conquered by [[Julius Caesar]] of the [[Roman Republic]] about 56&nbsp;BC in the [[Gallic Wars]]. About three decades later under [[Augustus]], [[Gallia Celtica]] was subdivided into three parts, with this area a part of [[Gallia Lugdunensis]], with its capital in [[Lugdunum]], now [[Lyon]]. A later division was named ''Lugdunensis secunda'' (''Lyonnaise'' 2nd). A Unelli town, now [[Coutances]], [[Coutances#History|was named]] ''Constantia'' in 298 by the Roman emperor [[Constantius Chlorus]].

Around 430, the [[bishopric of Coutances]] (much later under the [[archbishopric of Rouen]]), was established in [[Coutances]], having about the same limits as the ''Lyonnaise'' 2nd.

In 933, Sark was included in the [[Duchy of Normandy]], based on the traditional boundaries of the ''Lugdunensis secunda'' and the [[archbishopric of Rouen]]. Following the [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066, the island was united with the [[The Crown|Crown of England]]. In the thirteenth century, the French [[pirate]] [[Eustace the Monk]], having served [[John of England|King John]], used Sark as a base of operations.

During the [[Middle Ages]], the island was populated by [[Monasticism|monastic]] communities. By the 16th century, however, the island was uninhabited and used by pirates as a refuge and base. In 1565, [[Helier de Carteret]], [[Seigneur]] of [[Saint Ouen, Jersey|St. Ouen]] in [[Jersey]], received [[letters patent]] from [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] granting him Sark as a [[fief]] in perpetuity on condition that he kept the island free of pirates and occupied by at least forty men who were of her [[Commoner|English subjects]] or swore allegiance to the Crown.<ref name=BAILII>{{cite BAILII |litigants=Barclay & Ors R (on the application of) v The Seigneur of Sark & Anor |court=EWHC |division=Admin |year=2008 |num=1354 |date=18 June 2008 |parallelcite=[2008] 3 WLR 867}}</ref> This he duly did, leasing 40 parcels of land (known as "Tenements") at a low rent to forty families, mostly from [[Saint Ouen, Jersey|St Ouen]], on condition that a house be built and maintained on each parcel and that "the Tenant" provide one man, armed with a [[musket]], for the defence of the island. The 40 tenements survive to this day, albeit with minor boundary changes. (In 2015, the 450th anniversary of this event was commemorated with the construction of a modern [[henge monument]], [[Sark Henge]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sark.co.uk/sark-henge-12778/|title=Sark: Sark Henge|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=6 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606145357/https://www.sark.co.uk/sark-henge-12778/|url-status=dead}}</ref>) A subsequent attempt by the families to establish a constitution under a [[bailiff (Channel Islands)|bailiff]], as in Jersey, was stopped by the Guernsey authorities who resented any attempt to wrest Sark from their bailiwick.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}

===Recent history===
{{Further|Sark during the German occupation of the Channel Islands}}

In 1844, desperate for funds to continue the operation of the silver mine on the island, the incumbent Seigneur, [[Ernest le Pelley]], obtained [[The Crown#Crown Dependencies|Crown permission]] to mortgage Sark's [[fief]] to local [[privateer]] John Allaire. After the company running the mine went bankrupt, le Pelley was unable to keep up the mortgage payments and, in 1849, his son [[Pierre Carey le Pelley]], the new Seigneur, was forced to sell the fief to [[Marie Collings]] for a total of £1,383<ref name="Marr">{{cite book |last=Marr |first=James |author-link=James Marr (author) |title=Guernsey people |date=1984 |isbn=0850335299 |publisher=Phillimore }}</ref> (£6,000 less the sum borrowed and an accumulated interest of £616 and 13s).<ref name="Ewen">{{cite book |last1=Ewen |first1=Alfred Harry |first2=Allan Roper |last2=De Carteret |title=The Fief of Sark |publisher=[[Guernsey Press]] |location=[[Guernsey]] |date=1969 |pages=101–102 }}</ref>

During [[World War II]], the island, along with the other Channel Islands, was [[German occupation of the Channel Islands|occupied by German forces]] between 1940 and 1945. [[Sark during the German occupation of the Channel Islands|German military rule on Sark]] began on 4 July 1940, the day after the Guernsey ''[[Commandant|Kommandant]]'' Major Albrecht Lanz and his interpreter and chief of staff Major Maas visited the island to inform the Dame and Seigneur ([[Sibyl Hathaway|Sibyl]] and [[Robert Hathaway]]) of the new regime. [[British Commandos]] raided the island several times. [[Operation Basalt]], during the night of 3–4 October 1942, captured a prisoner, and [[Operation Hardtack (commando raid)|Hardtack 7]] was a failed British landing in December 1943. Sark was finally liberated on 10 May 1945, a full day after Guernsey.

In late August 1990, an unemployed French [[Nuclear physics|nuclear physicist]] named André Gardes, who believed he was the rightful holder of the Seigneur's title, attempted an invasion of Sark armed with a [[semi-automatic weapon]]. The night Gardes arrived, he put up two posters declaring his intention to take over the island the following day at noon. The following day he started a solo foot patrol in front of the manor, in battle-dress, weapon in hand. While Gardes was sitting on a bench waiting for noon to arrive, the island's volunteer [[Constable|''connétable'']] approached the Frenchman and complimented him on the quality of his weapon.<ref name=Liberation>{{cite news|url=http://www.liberation.fr/portrait/1997/12/06/michael-beaumont-70-ans-est-le-seigneur-de-sercq-ile-anglo-normande-deux-richissimes-jumeaux-contest_224306 |title=Michael Beaumont, 70 ans, est le 'seigneur' de Sercq, île anglo-normande. Deux richissimes jumeaux contestent son paisible féodalisme. Le comte de l'île. |trans-title=Michael Beaumont, 70, is the 'lord' of Sark, Channel Island. Two extremely wealthy twins contest its peaceful feudalism. The Earl of the Island. |language=fr |first= Edouard |last=Launet |date=6 December 1997 |work=[[Libération]] |access-date=18 December 2015}}</ref> Gardes changed the gun's magazine to illustrate how it worked, allowing the constable to tackle and arrest him. He was given a seven-day sentence, which he served in Guernsey.<ref name=Liberation/><ref name="Caesar">{{cite news |last=Caesar |first=Ed |date=25 October 2006 |title=Lost world: the last days of feudal Sark |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/lost-world-the-last-days-of-feudal-sark-421545.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-9390711.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916043837/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-9390711.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 September 2012 |title=Grave affair. (Andre Gardes tries to take over Sark in the Channel Islands) |newspaper=The Economist (US) |date=1 September 1990 |access-date=1 February 2014}} {{small|Subscription required for full article}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://metro.co.uk/2008/09/08/weird-fact-of-the-day-that-you-probably-didnt-know-467808/|title=Weird Fact of the Day (that you probably didn't know)|date=8 September 2008|publisher=[[Metro (website)|Metro.co.uk]]|access-date=4 December 2017}}</ref> Gardes attempted this again the following year, but was recognized in Guernsey, arrested, and handed over to the French government.{{cn|date=August 2021}}

====Transition to new system of government====
{{Main|2008 Sark general election}}

Billionaire brothers [[David and Frederick Barclay#Sark politics|David and Frederick Barclay]] had purchased an island within Sark's territorial waters in 1993<ref name=Liberation/> along with the hotels on the island.<ref name="Time Harrell">{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704703,00.html |title=A Revolution Not Televised |first=Eben |last=Harrell |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=18 December 2015}}</ref> In the mid-1990s, the brothers petitioned the [[European Court of Human Rights]] in [[Strasbourg]], France, challenging Sark's inheritance law, which mandated their island be left to David's oldest son. The brothers wanted to will their estate equally to their four children.<ref name="Wall Street Journal – October 2005">{{cite web |url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=386652 |work=Wall Street Journal |date=11 October 2005 |via=[[Mathaba News Agency]] |access-date=15 January 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121135126/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=386652 |archive-date=21 November 2014 |first=Jason |last=Singer |title=On island of Sark, Barclay brothers joust with feudalism}}</ref> In 1999, women in Sark were given equal rights of property inheritance, mainly due to the brothers' influence.<ref>{{cite news|last=Grey |first=Paul |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sark-gives-women-equal-right-to-inherit-744017.html |title=Sark gives women equal right to inherit |newspaper=The Independent |date=25 November 1999 |access-date=23 May 2019}}</ref>

Until 2008, Sark's parliament (Chief Pleas) was a single chamber consisting of 54 members, comprising the Seigneur, the Seneschal, 40 owners of the tenements and 12 elected deputies. A change to the system was advocated largely by the [[David and Frederick Barclay#Sark and Brecqhou disputes|Barclay brothers]].<ref name="Time Harrell"/> Their premise was that a change was necessary to comply with the [[European Convention on Human Rights]], though it was suggested that their objection was more likely at odds with certain property tax requirements and primogeniture laws affecting their holdings.<ref name="Time Harrell"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bowers |first1=Simon |last2=Pidd |first2=Helen |date=27 June 2012 |title=Minister in row with Barclay brothers over Sark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jun/28/grandees-sarkees-channel-island-feud |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=28 June 2012}}</ref> The old system was described as [[feudal]] and undemocratic because the tenants were entitled to sit in Chief Pleas as of right.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/britain/2007/07/12/democratic-revolution |title=Feudal Sark: Democratic revolution |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=12 July 2007 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>

On 16 January 2008 and 21 February 2008, the Chief Pleas approved a law to reform Chief Pleas as a 30-member chamber, with 28 members elected in island-wide elections, one hereditary member (the Seigneur) and one member (the Seneschal) appointed for life.{{efn|The changes were in the ''Reform (Sark) Law, 2008''<ref name="Reform law"/> and the ''Real Property (Transfer Tax, Charging and Related Provisions) (Sark) Law, 2007''}}<ref name="Reform law"/> The [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] approved the Sark law reforms on 9 April 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/guernsey/7339172.stm |title=Sark democracy plans are approved |work=BBC News |date=9 April 2008 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> The first elections under the new law were held in December 2008 and the new chamber first convened in January 2009.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Harrell |first=Eben |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704703,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119205907/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704703,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 January 2008 |title=A Revolution Not Televised |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/guernsey/7258214.stm |title=Sark agrees switch to democracy |work=BBC News |date=22 February 2008 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>

Some Sark residents have complained that the new system is not democratic and have described the powers the new law granted to the Seneschal, an unelected member whose term the new law extended to the duration of his natural life, as imperial or dictatorial. The [[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Appeal]] had ruled his powers to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights<ref>{{cite BAILII |litigants=R v Secretary of State for Justice |court=EWHC |division=Civ |year=2008 |num=1319 |parallelcite=[2009] 2 WLR 1205 |date=2 December 2008}}</ref> and his powers were subject to further legal challenges on these grounds.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611041746/http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/09/17/sark-seneschal-could-lose-chief-pleas-role/ |archive-date=11 June 2011 |url=http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/09/17/sark-seneschal-could-lose-chief-pleas-role |title=Sark Seneschal could lose Chief Pleas role |last=Mann |first=Nick |website=[[Guernsey Press|This is Guernsey]]}}</ref>

In 2012 the BBC ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' programme reported on local disquiet about the influence on the island of the Barclay brothers.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9709000/9709518.stm |title=Sark Islanders fear takeover |newspaper=[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]] |publisher=BBC |date=28 March 2012}}</ref> ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine further illustrated the ongoing and escalating tensions between the Barclays and some of the longer-term residents.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Collins |first=Lauren |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/29/121029fa_fact_collins |title=A Feudal Feud on the Isle of Sark |magazine=The New Yorker |date=29 October 2012 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> In 2017 ''[[Private Eye]]'' also reported on the situation, following the Barclays' decision to close their vineyard and a number of hotels and shops they own on Sark.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=27 January 2017 |title=A plaintive wine from Sark |magazine=[[Private Eye]] |location=London |publisher=Pressdram}}</ref>

====Dark Sky Community status====
In January 2011, the [[International Dark-Sky Association]] designated Sark as Europe's first Dark Sky Community<ref name="IDA">{{cite web|url=http://www.darksky.org/assets/documents/PR/2011/PRSarkHortobagyFINAL.pdf |title=Sark Island and Hortobágy National Park Earn Dark Sky Status From the International Dark Sky Association|last=Anon |date=31 January 2011 |work=IDA Press release |publisher=International Dark Sky Association |access-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819151755/http://darksky.org/assets/documents/PR/2011/PRSarkHortobagyFINAL.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2013  }}</ref> and the first Dark Sky Island in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-12323505|title=Sark named world's first dark sky island|last=Anon|date=31 January 2011|work=BBC News Guernsey|publisher=BBC|access-date=22 February 2014}}</ref> This designation recognises that Sark is sufficiently clear of [[light pollution]] to allow naked-eye [[astronomy]]. Although Sark was aided in its achievement by its location, its historic ban on cars and the fact that there is no public lighting, it was also necessary for local residents to make adjustments, such as re-siting lights, to cut the light pollution.

The designation was made in January 2011, following an audit by the IDA in 2010. The award is significant in that Sark is the first island community to have achieved this; other Dark-Sky Places have, up to now, been mainly uninhabited areas, and IDA chairman Martin Morgan-Taylor commended Sark residents for their effort.<ref>{{cite news |author=Ian Sample |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jan/31/sark-first-dark-sky-island |title=Sark is world's first 'dark sky island' |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=31 January 2011 |access-date=7 December 2012}}</ref> After the designation was granted, Sark Astronomy Society worked to secure funds for an astronomical observatory on the island. In October 2015 Sark's observatory was officially opened by [[Marek Kukula]], public astronomer from the Royal Observatory Greenwich.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-34495607|title=Sark's astronomical observatory opens|last=Anon|date=11 October 2015|work=BBC News Guernsey|publisher=BBC|access-date=28 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sark.co.uk/sarks-very-own-observatory-11472/|title=Sark's Very Own Observatory|last=Anon|work=Sark Island|publisher=Sark Tourism|access-date=18 September 2017|date=3 October 2015|archive-date=14 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714055352/http://www.sark.co.uk/sarks-very-own-observatory-11472/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Politics==<!--Linked from [[Seigneur of Sark]]-->
[[File:Sark-aerial.jpg|thumb|September 2005 aerial view of Sark. North is to the lower left, [[Little Sark]] toward the upper right and [[Brecqhou]] at bottom right.]]

Until the second half of the 2000s Sark was considered the last [[Feudalism|feudal state]] in Europe.<ref name="Milmo 2006">{{cite web | last=Milmo | first=Cahal | title=End of Europe's last fiefdom as Sark votes for democracy | website=The Independent | date=4 October 2006 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/end-of-europe-s-last-fiefdom-as-sark-votes-for-democracy-418769.html | access-date=8 July 2022}}</ref> Together with the other [[Channel Islands]], it is the last remnant of the former [[Duchy of Normandy]] still belonging to [[the Crown]]. Sark belongs to the Crown in its own right and has an independent relationship with the Crown through the Lieutenant Governor in Guernsey.<ref name="hansard">{{cite web| url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/lhan90.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/lhan90.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live| title=Lords Hansard text for 16 Jun 2009 (pt 0001) | publisher=parliament.uk| access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> Formally, the Seigneur holds it as a [[fief]] from the Crown, [[Enfeoffment|reenfeoffing]] the landowners on the island with their respective parcels. The political consequences of this construction were abolished in recent years, particularly in the reform of the legislative body, Chief Pleas, which took place in 2008.

Although part of the [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]], Sark is fiscally separate from the rest of the Bailiwick. Together with the islands of Alderney and Guernsey, Sark from time to time approves Bailiwick of Guernsey legislation, which, subject to the approval of all three legislatures, applies in the entire Bailiwick. Legislation cannot be made which applies on Sark without the approval of the Chief Pleas, although recently Chief Pleas has been delegating a number of ordinance-making powers to the States of Guernsey. Such powers are, however, in each case subject to dis-application, or repeal, by the Chief Pleas. By long standing custom, Sark's criminal law has been made by the States of Guernsey, and this custom was put on a statutory basis in Section 4 of the Reform (Sark) Law, 2008, by which Sark delegates criminal law making power to the States of Guernsey.

Sark has its own [[UN M49|United Nations Standard Country or Area Code for Statistical Use]] (680). That code is used for statistical processing purposes by the Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat.<ref>United Nations: Standard Country or Area Codes for ISO 3166-2:GG Use [accessed 25 April 2020])</ref>

The [[ISO 3166-1]] code element {{code|CQ}}<ref name="ISO"/> has been exceptionally reserved to refer to Sark. An "exceptionally reserved" code element does not represent a country name in ISO 3166-1, but is reserved for a particular use at the special request of a national ISO member body, government, or international organization (in this case, the United Kingdom).<ref>{{cite web |title=Glossary for ISO 3166 |url=https://www.iso.org/glossary-for-iso-3166.html}}</ref> Previously Sark was represented by [[ISO 3166-2:GG|Guernsey's country code]] (GG). Sark also fought for 20 years to get the .cq [[country code top-level domain]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Kieren |title=After 20-year battle, Channel island Sark finally earns the right to exist on the internet with its own top-level domain |url=https://www.theregister.com/2020/03/23/sark_cctld_iso/ |access-date=18 June 2023 |website=www.theregister.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Seigneur===
{{Main|Seigneur of Sark}}

[[Christopher Beaumont, 23rd Seigneur of Sark|Christopher Beaumont]] is the current and twenty-third Seigneur of Sark, having inherited the Seigneurie in 2016.

Before the [[Constitution of Sark|constitutional reforms of 2008]], the Seigneur (or Dame in the case of a woman holding the office) was the head of the government of the Isle of Sark. Many of the laws, particularly those related to inheritance and the rule of the Seigneur, had changed little since their promulgation in 1565 under [[Elizabeth I of England]]. For example, the Seigneur held the sole right to keep pigeons or an [[Neutering|unspayed]] dog.<ref name="Caesar" /> The latter right was repealed in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Control of Dogs (Amendment) (Sark) Ordinance, 2008 |url=https://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?documentid=52611}}</ref>

The Seigneur remains the [[lord of the manor]] for the island, subject only to the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Crown in Right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey]] as [[sovereign]] and [[Homage (feudal)|liege lord]].<ref name="RJCO2010">{{cite web |date=30 March 2012 |title=Review of the Roles of the Jersey Crown officers |url=http://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20Guernsey%20LOs%20Submission%2020100330%20HR%20v1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010220559/https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20Guernsey%20LOs%20Submission%2020100330%20HR%20v1.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=31 July 2017 |website=States of Jersey}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=De Woolfson |first=Joel |date=21 June 2010 |title=It's a power thing... |newspaper=[[Guernsey Press]] |url=http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/06/21/its-a-power-thing/ |access-date=31 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610140928/http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/06/21/its-a-power-thing/ |archive-date=10 June 2011}}</ref> With the approval of the [[Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey]], the Seigneur appoints and dismisses Sark's public officers, including the Seneschal, the Prevot, and the Greffier. The Seignuer as chairperson, together with the Seneschal, the Prevot, and the Greffier, comprise a board of trustees for the acquisition, management, and disposition of all property belonging to Chief Pleas. Likewise, the Seigneur has the right to speak at meetings of Chief Pleas, but not to vote, and the right to veto primary legislation before it is presented for [[royal assent]]. Chief Pleas may nevertheless override this veto by a simple majority of its duly elected counseillers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/laws/sark/g/government-constitution-and-elections/reform-sark-law-2008/|title=Reform (Sark) Law, 2008|publisher=States of Guernsey|author=Law Officers of the Crown in Right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey|publication-date=1 September 2008|access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref>

===Seneschal===
Until 2013 the [[Seneschal]] of Sark was the head of the Chief Pleas. From 1583 and 1675 judicial functions were exercised by five elected [[jurat]]s and a juge, but since 1675 the Seneschal has also been the judge of the island.

The Seneschal was historically appointed by the Seigneur, but nowadays there is an Appointment Committee consisting of the Seigneur and two other members appointed by the Seigneur.<ref name="Reform law"/>

In 2010, following the decision of the English Court of Appeal, the Chief Pleas decided to split the dual role of the Seneschal.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stevenson|first=Jess |url=http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/10/07/seneschal-to-lose-one-of-his-roles/ |title=Seneschal to lose one of his roles |publisher=[[Guernsey Press]] |access-date=21 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611114846/http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/10/07/seneschal-to-lose-one-of-his-roles/ |archive-date=11 June 2011 }}</ref> Thus, since 2013 the Chief Pleas has elected its own President, who presides in almost all cases. The Seneschal now presides in Chief Pleas only during the election of the President.

The complete list of all the Seneschals of Sark from 1675 is as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portalestoria.net/SARK.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715214932/http://www.portalestoria.net/sark.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=15 July 2010 |title=Sark Island |publisher=Portalestoria.net |access-date=7 December 2012}}</ref>

{{div col}}
# Pierre Gibault (15/7/1675–1680)
# Thomas de Beauvoir (1680–1683)
# Phillipe Dumeresq (1683–1702)
# Jean Payne (1702–1707)
# Philippe de Carteret (1707–1744)
# Henri de Carteret (1744–1752)
# Phillipe le Masurier (1752–1777)
# Henri le Masurier (1777–1785)
# Amice le Couteur (1785–1808)
# Jean le Couteur (1808–1812)
# Jean Falle (1812–1830)
# Elie le Masurier (1830–1841)
# Philippe Guille (1841–1851)
# Thomas Godfray (1851–1876)
# William de Carteret (1876–1881)
# Abraham Baker (1881–1891)
# Thomas Godfray (1891–1920)
# Kenneth Campbell (1920–1922)
# Ashby Taylor (1922–1925)
# Frederick de Carteret (1925–1937)
# William Carré (1937–1945)
# William Baker (1945–1969)
# Bernard Jones (1969–1979)
# Hilary Carré (1979–1985)
# Lawrence Philip de Carteret (1985–2000)
# Reginald J. Guille (2000–2013)
# Jeremy la Trobe-Bateman (2013–2021)
# Bethan Owen (2021–2022)
# Victoria Stamps (2022–present)
{{div col end}}

===Tenants===
[[File:Sark Seigneurie.jpg|thumb|The Seigneurie ({{coord|49|26.4|N|2|21.7|W|display=inline|type:isle_scale:10000_region:GB}})]]
Pursuant to the royal [[letters patent]], the Seigneur was to keep the island inhabited by at least 40 armed men.<ref name=BAILII/> Therefore, from his lands, 39 parcels or [[Tenement (law)|tenements]], each sufficient for one family, were subdivided and granted to settlers, the ''tenants''. Later, some of these parcels were dismembered, and parts of the Seigneurial land were sold, creating more parcels.

Originally each head of a parcel-holding family had the right to vote in Chief Pleas, but in 1604 this right was restricted to the 39 original tenements required by the letters patent, the so-called 'Quarantaine Tenements' ({{langx|fr|quarantaine}}: a group of forty). The newer parcels mostly did not have the obligation to bear arms. In 1611 the dismemberment of tenements was forbidden, but the order was not immediately followed.

In Sark, the word ''tenant'' is used (and often pronounced as in French) in the sense of ''feudal landholder'' rather than the common English meaning of ''lessee''. Originally, the word referred to any landowner, but today it is mostly used for a holder of one of the {{lang|fr|Quarantaine}} Tenements.

===Chief Pleas===
{{redirect|Chief Pleas}}
[[File:Sark July 2011 50.jpg|thumb|Meeting place for Chief Pleas and the Court of the Seneschal]]
[[File:Sark Chief Pleas Seal.svg|thumb|Seal of the Chief Pleas]]
Chief Pleas ({{langx|fr|Chefs Plaids}}; [[Sercquiais]]: ''{{lang|nrf|Cheurs Pliaids}}'') is the parliament of Sark. It consists of eighteen members (''{{lang|nrf|conseillers}}''), elected for a period of office of four years. In addition, the Seigneur and a speaker (who is elected by the {{lang|nrf|conseillers}}) are counted as members; but they have no right to vote. The periods of office are shifted, with the period of half the {{lang|nrf|conseillers}} starting in the middle of the periods of the other half. Thus, every second year, nine {{lang|nrf|conseillers}} are elected for the coming four years. The elections are held on the basis of a single multi-member Sark-wide constituency, with the nine candidates receiving most votes being elected. The ''{{lang|nrf|[[Prévôt]]}}'', the ''{{lang|nrf|[[Greffier]]}}'' and the treasurer also attend but are not members; the treasurer may address Chief Pleas on matters of taxation and finance.

However, if there are not more willing candidates than the numbers of positions to fill (including any casual vacancies), then all candidates are declared elected, without any actual election necessary. This happened both in the [[2014 Sark general election|2014]] and the [[2016 Sark general election|2016 elections]] to the Chief Pleas. The last elections were held on [[2024 Sark general election|11 December 2024.]]

Until 2008, the Chief Pleas consisted of the tenants, and twelve deputies of the people as the only representation of the majority, an office introduced in 1922. The Seigneur and the [[Seneschal]] (who presided) were also members of Chief Pleas.

Since 2000, Chief Pleas was working on its own reform, responding to internal and international pressures. On 8 March 2006, by a vote of 25–15, Chief Pleas voted for a new legislature of the Seigneur, the Seneschal, fourteen elected landowners and fourteen elected non-landowners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0603minutes.pdf |title=Minutes Extraordinary meeting of the Chief Pleas held on the 8th day of March, 2006 |page=8 |quote=Proposition 1 |access-date=21 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015022425/http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0603minutes.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2007 |url-status=dead  |website=sark.info }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://guernseypress.com/news/2006/03/09/sark-set-to-fight-uk-over-tenants/ |title=Sark set to fight UK over tenants |access-date=21 March 2015 |website=[[Guernsey Press]] |date=9 March 2006 |archive-date=27 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927070052/https://guernseypress.com/news/2006/03/09/sark-set-to-fight-uk-over-tenants/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, it was made plain by the British [[Lord Chancellor]], [[Jack Straw]], that this option was not on the table.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/guernsey/7193632.stm |work=[[BBC News Online|BBC News]] |title=Deputy's hope for election reform |date=17 January 2008}}</ref>

Offered two options for reform involving an elected legislature, one fully elected, one with a number of seats reserved for elected tenants, 56% of the inhabitants expressed a preference for a totally elected legislature.<ref name="Sark Website Opinion Polls">{{cite web|url=http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0609ers_opinionresults.pdf |title=Island of Sark – Test of opinion on composition of the Chief Pleas |quote=for 28 Open Seats...234&nbsp;... for 12 Seats for Deputies, 8 Seats for Tenants, 8 Open Seats...184 |date=7 September 2006 |access-date=5 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414141645/http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0609ers_opinionresults.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2008 |url-status=dead  |website=sark.info }}</ref> Following the poll, Chief Pleas voted on 4 October 2006 to replace the twelve deputies and forty tenants in Chief Pleas by 28 ''{{lang|nrf|conseillers}}'' elected by universal adult suffrage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0610minutes.pdf |title=Minutes of the meeting held in the Assembly Room, Sark on 4 October 2006 |page=3 |access-date=21 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014205508/http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0610minutes.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2007 |url-status=dead  |website=sark.info}}</ref> This decision was suspended in January 2007 when it was pointed out to Chief Pleas that the 56% versus 44% majority achieved in the opinion poll did not achieve the 60% majority required for the constitutional change.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} The decision was replaced by the proposal that Chief Pleas should consist of sixteen tenants and twelve ''{{lang|nrf|conseillers}}'' both elected by universal adult suffrage from 2008 to 2012 and that a binding referendum should then decide whether this composition should be kept or replaced by 28 ''{{lang|nrf|conseillers}}''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0704minutes.pdf |title=Minutes of the Easter Meeting of Chief Pleas held in the Assembly Room, Sark on 11–12 April 2007 |pages=4, 7, 13 |access-date=21 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015022707/http://www.sark.info/downloads/government/0704minutes.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2007 |url-status=dead  |website=sark.info }}</ref> This proposal was rejected by the Privy Council and the 28 ''{{lang|nrf|conseiller}}'' option was reinstated in February 2008 and accepted by Privy Council in April 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/guernsey/7339172.stm |title=Sark democracy plans are approved |work=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=5 May 2008 |date=9 April 2008}}</ref>

In 2003, Chief Pleas voted to vary the long-standing [[ban (law)|ban]] on divorce in the island by extending to the Royal Court of Guernsey power to grant divorces.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dewe |first1=R. J. |title=The General Purposes & Finance Committee Report on Divorce |date=August 2002 |url=http://www.sark.info/static/government/old_website/static/0208div.htm |website=sark.info |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314010835/http://www.sark.info/static/government/old_website/static/0208div.htm |archive-date=14 March 2012}}</ref>

In 2017, due to a lack of candidates standing for elections, the number of {{lang|nrf|conseillers}} was reduced from 28 to 18, with nine elected every two years.

Bailiwick of Guernsey laws and United Kingdom Acts of Parliament can (the latter as in the case of all the other Channel Islands) be extended to Sark. Normally the consent of Chief Pleas is obtained for this, but the Supreme Court ruled in ''R v Secretary of State for Justice'' that it need not be.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2013-0155-judgment.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2013-0155-judgment.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=5 December 2018 |title=''R (on the application of Sir David Barclay and another) (Respondents) v Secretary of State for Justice and the Lord Chancellor and others (Appellants) and The Attorney General of Jersey and The States of Guernsey (Interveners)'' |website=The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom |date=22 October 2014 |quote=... in the eyes of the courts the UK Parliament did have a paramount power to legislate for the Islands on any matter, domestic or international, without their consent ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite BAILII |litigants=R v Secretary of State for Justice |court=UKSC |year=2014 |num=54 |parallelcite=[2014] 3 WLR 1142, [2015] 1 AC 276, [2014] WLR(D) 446 |date=22 October 2014}}</ref> Sark does not make its own criminal laws;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guernseyroyalcourt.gg/article/3424/Parliament---The-Chief-Pleas |title=Parliament – The Chief Pleas |date=13 September 2011 |publisher=The Royal Court of Guernsey |website=www.guernseyroyalcourt.gg}}</ref> the responsibility for making criminal law was assigned to the States of Guernsey by Section 4(3) of the [[Reform (Sark) Law 2008]].<ref name="Reform law"/>

===Officers===
The executive officers on the island are:

* The '''Seneschal''' (Chief Judge, formerly also President of Chief Pleas) and Deputy
* The '''Prevôt''' (Sheriff of the Court and of Chief Pleas) and Deputy
* The '''Greffier''' (Clerk) and Deputy
* The '''Treasurer''' (Finances) and Deputy
* The '''Connétable''' (or [[Constable]]) is the senior of two police officers and police administrator and the [[Vingtenier]] is the junior police officer.

The Seneschal, Prevôt, and Greffier are chosen by the Seigneur, while the Treasurer, Constable and Vingtenier are elected by Chief Pleas.<ref name="Reform law">{{cite web|title=The Reform (Sark) Law, 2008|url=http://www.gov.sark.gg/Downloads/laws_and_ordinances/reform_(sark)_law__2008_(consolidated_text).pdf|website=Sark Chief Pleas|access-date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713231409/http://www.gov.sark.gg/Downloads/laws_and_ordinances/reform_(sark)_law__2008_(consolidated_text).pdf|archive-date=13 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Channel Islands |editor-first=Reginald J. W. |editor-last=Hammond |publisher=[[Ward Lock & Co|Ward Lock]] |page=146 |location=London |year=1975 |isbn=0-7063-5497-4 |series=[[Ward Lock travel guides|Ward Lock Red Guide]]}}</ref>

The list of current Officers of the Island of Sark:
* Seneschal – Victoria Stamps<ref name="contacts"/>
** Deputy Seneschal – Ashley Jarman<ref name="contacts"/>
* Prévôt – Kevin Adams<ref name="contacts">{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.sark.gg/contacts.html |title=Contacts |website=Sark Chief Pleas |publisher=Government of Sark |access-date=1 February 2014 |archive-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118182023/http://www.gov.sark.gg/Contacts.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
** Deputy Prévôt – Joanne Godwin<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.sark.gg/contacts.html|title=Sark Government web site contacts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118182023/http://www.gov.sark.gg/Contacts.html|archive-date=18 November 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Greffier – Trevor John Hamon<ref name=":0" />
** Deputy Greffier – Gary Hamon{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}}
* Treasurer – Sarah Hudson<ref>{{Cite web |last=government |first=Isle of sark |title=Isle of sark government |url=https://sarkgov.co.uk/contact-us |access-date=24 March 2024 |website=Isle of sark government |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Constable – 
* Vingtenier – 
* Speaker of Chief Pleas – Paul Armorgie<ref name="contacts"/>

===''Clameur de haro''===
Among the old laws of the Channel Islands is the old [[Normans|Norman]] custom of the ''[[clameur de haro]]''. Using this legal device, a person can obtain immediate cessation of any action he considers to be an infringement of his rights. At the scene, he must, in front of witnesses, recite the [[Lord's Prayer]] in French and cry out ''"Haro, Haro, Haro! À mon aide mon Prince, on me fait tort!"'' (''"Haro, Haro, Haro! To my aid, my Prince! I am being wronged!"''). It should then be registered with the Greffe Office within 24 hours. All actions against the person must then cease until the matter is heard by the Court. The last ''clameur'' recorded on Sark was raised in August 2021; this was withdrawn by the claimant in October 2021.<ref>Act of Court, October 2021</ref>

===Periodicals===
Since 2009, a resident of Sark has operated a weekly online newspaper called ''The Sark Newspaper'' (previously known as ''The Sark Newsletter'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sarknewspaper.com/|title=Keeping the Island Informed.|website=The Sark Newspaper}}</ref> The publisher is a former longtime employee of the wealthy [[David and Frederick Barclay|Barclay brothers]], who own the small neighbouring island of [[Brecqhou]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-guernsey-31838071|title=Kevin Delaney leaves Barclay Brothers' Sark firm|date=11 March 2015|work=[[BBC News Online]]|access-date=27 July 2017}}</ref> The publication has compared the local government of Sark "to fascist Germany in the 1930s". In 2014 over 50 residents of Sark filed complaints with the police about accusations made by the paper.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/20/sark-feud-newspaper-harassment|title=Police called in over 'media harassment' on Sark|last=Morris|first=Steven|date=20 November 2014|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=27 July 2017|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Since 2011 a quarterly magazine called ''Sark Life'', which promotes a positive view of the island and welcomes contributions, is published by the Sark-based publishing company Small Island Publishing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smallislandpublishing.sark.gg/sarklife.html|title=Sark Life magazine by Small Island Publishing, Sark|website=www.smallislandpublishing.sark.gg}}</ref>

==Sercquiais==
{{Main|Sercquiais}}

Sercquiais (''Sarkese'', or sometimes called ''Sark-French'') is a dialect of the [[Norman language]] still spoken in 1998 by a few older inhabitants of the island.<ref name="Sercquiais">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/jerriais.shtml |title=Voices – Multilingual Nation / Jèrriais and Sercquiais today |author=Mari C Jones |website=[[BBC]]|access-date=21 February 2008}}</ref> Its decline has been linked with the arrival of English-speaking miners in 1835, and increased tourism in more recent years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/jerriais_history.shtml |title=Voices – Multilingual Nation / The history of Jèrriais and Sercquiais |author=Mari C Jones|website=[[BBC]]|access-date=21 February 2008}}</ref>

==Economy==
===Tourism and financial services===
Sark's economy depends primarily on tourism and financial services. Sark has had a private company registry since 2017. The [[Guernsey Financial Services Commission]] does not register companies based in Sark.<ref name=EconomicPolicy2013>{{cite web |title=Inaugural Economic Policy for Sark |url=http://www.gov.sark.gg/Downloads/Reports/Inaugural_Economic_Policy_for_Sark.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.gov.sark.gg/Downloads/Reports/Inaugural_Economic_Policy_for_Sark.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |publisher=Government of Sark |access-date=4 April 2013}}</ref>

===Taxation===
Sark is fiscally autonomous from [[Guernsey]], and consequently has control over how it raises taxes. There are no taxes on income, capital gains or inheritances. There is also no [[VAT]] charged on goods and services, but import duties (Impôts) are charged on some goods brought onto the island at around 70–75% of Guernsey rates. However, the island does levy a Personal Capital Tax, a Property Tax, a Poll Tax ("Landing Tax") on visitors coming to the island, and a Property Transfer Tax (PTT) on residential properties when they are sold.

The island has its own tax assessor (in 2016, this remained Simon de Carteret),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.sark.gg/contacts.html|title=Contacts|website=Government of Sark|access-date=19 June 2015|archive-date=18 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118182023/http://www.gov.sark.gg/Contacts.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> who collects the [[Property Tax]], PTT, and the Personal Capital Tax (direct tax).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.sark.gg/Downloads/Press_Releases/2014_Press_Releases/141113_Consultation_Revenue_Generation_and_Fairer_Taxation_Proposals.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.gov.sark.gg/Downloads/Press_Releases/2014_Press_Releases/141113_Consultation_Revenue_Generation_and_Fairer_Taxation_Proposals.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=Proposals of the Finance & Commerce Committee, Sark|publisher=Government of Sark|date=12 November 2014}}</ref> Currently, the Personal Capital Tax ranges from a minimum of £450, to a maximum of £9,000 or 0.39% per annum (whichever is the lower).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=122027&p=0|title=Direct Taxes for 2020 (Sark) Ordinance, 2019|website=Guernsey Legal Resources|access-date=11 June 2020|date=6 November 2019|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611095727/http://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=122027&p=0|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2014, there were five taxpayers who paid the maximum amount of £6,400 (PCT and Property Tax combined), and six who paid zero tax. Residents over the age of 69 do not pay the PCT. If a resident chooses not to declare the value of their personal assets, they can elect to pay a flat-rate under the [[Forfaiting|Forfait]] method.

In 2006, Property Transfer Tax replaced the feudal ''Treizième''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guernseypress.com/news/2006/12/28/seigneur-gives-up-right-to-treizieme/|title=Seigneur gives up right to treizieme|publisher=[[Guernsey Press]]|date=28 December 2006|access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref> This used to be calculated by dividing the purchase price of any of the 30 tenements or 40 freehold properties on Sark by 13. The proceeds from doing this were then paid directly to the [[Seigneur]]. When the Treizième was abolished, the [[Chief Pleas]] introduced an indexed-linked pension of £28,000 per year, payable to the Seigneur.

An individual is considered to be a resident for tax purposes if they have remained on the island for at least 90 days in any tax year.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Direct Taxes (Sark) Law, 2002|url=http://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/article/94340/Direct-Taxes-Sark-Law-2002|website=Guernsey Legal Resources|access-date=4 December 2017|date=20 March 2012}}</ref>

===Sark Company Registry===
Sark has no public company registry, and no company law. In January 2017, a private organisation called the "Sark Company Registry" was set up. The project was initially opposed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-guernsey-40188193|title=Concerns raised over company registry|date=8 June 2017|work=[[BBC News Online]]}}</ref> but that opposition ended with nothing, since no law could prohibit private registration of companies. None of managers of the private registry or any company registered by them was ever sanctioned.<ref>[http://sarkregistry.com Website of the Sark Company Registry]</ref>

==Education==
Sark generally follows the [[Education in England|education system of England]] though this is not strictly adhered to.

Sark has one school, the Sark School, which takes residents from the ages of 4 to 15. School is divided into four classes. Class 1 takes children from the ages of 4 to 7 (reception to year 2), class 2 caters to 7- to 9-year-olds (year 3 to year 4), class 3 has 9- to 14-year-olds (year 5 to year 9) and the older children attend class 4 (years 10 and 11).<ref>{{cite web|title=Classes|url=http://www.sarkschool.co.uk/page/?title=Classes&pid=23|website=Sark School|access-date=5 December 2017|archive-date=13 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713232827/http://www.sarkschool.co.uk/page/?title=Classes&pid=23|url-status=dead}}</ref> Pupils wishing to obtain a [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] or A-level qualification often finish their education in Guernsey or in England. Since 2006, however, a limited number of GCSEs have been offered to pupils at Sark School.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-11150158 |title=Sark School closed by streptococcal infection |work=BBC News |date=1 September 2010 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>

==Population==

{{Historical populations
| title= Population census
| percentages = pagr
| align = none
| cols = 2
| 1821 |488
| 1831 |543
| 1841 |785
| 1851 |580
| 1861 |583
| 1871 |546
| 1881 |571
| 1891 |570
| 1901 |504
| 1911 |579
| 1921 |611
| 1931 |571
| 1939 |430
| 1951 |555
| 1961 |550
| 1971 |584
| 2022 |562
|footnote=Note: Sark figures include Brecqhou
|source = [https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=83424&p=0 Bailiwick of Guernsey], [https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/5ff82f30-38d7-4ae5-98f1-e93b4ee65820/downloads/ITEM%2000%20-%20P%26F%20Census%202022%20Report%20CENSUS%20REPORT.pdf?ver=1735639335352 Chief Pleas]

}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Birthplace 
<ref>{{cite report|last1=Bailiwick of Guernsey |title=Census 1971 |publisher=Bailiwick of Guernsey |page=35 |url=https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=83424&p=0}}|access-date=1 January 2025</ref><ref>{{cite report|last1=Chief Pleas |title=Report on the 2022 Sark Census |date=2023 |publisher=Chief Pleas |page=6 |url=https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/5ff82f30-38d7-4ae5-98f1-e93b4ee65820/downloads/ITEM%2000%20-%20P%26F%20Census%202022%20Report%20CENSUS%20REPORT.pdf?ver=1735639335352 |access-date=1 January 2025}}</ref>

! 1971 !! 2022 
|-
|Sark/Guernsey
|50%
|28%
|- align="right"
| Other Channel Islands || 3% || 1% 
|- align="right"
| Other British Isles || 40% || 52% 
|- align="right"
| Abroad || 6% || 19% 
|}

==Transport==
[[File:Sark ferry arrival.jpg|thumb|The high-speed ferry service from Jersey arriving at Sark]]
[[File:Sark July 2010 27.jpg|thumb|Street scene in Sark]]
The Isle of Sark Shipping Company operates small ferries from Sark to [[St Peter Port]], Guernsey. The service takes 55 minutes for the {{convert|9|mi}} crossing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Company Bio|url=https://www.sarkshippingcompany.com/about-us/company-bio|website=Sark Shipping Company Ltd|access-date=5 December 2017|date=4 July 2012|archive-date=3 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303034151/https://www.sarkshippingcompany.com/about-us/company-bio|url-status=dead}}</ref> A high-speed passenger ferry is operated in summer by the French company Manche Iles Express to [[Saint Helier]], [[Jersey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.manche-iles-express.com |title=Manches Îles Express |publisher=Manche-iles-express.com |access-date=7 December 2012}}</ref> A 12-passenger boat, the ''Lady Maris II'', operates regular services to [[Alderney]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitalderney.com/stay/travel/ |title=States of Alderney Visit Alderney website |publisher=Visitalderney.com |access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref>

The island is a [[car-free zone]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Traffic lights on car-free Sark|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-11982125|website=BBC News|date=13 December 2010}}</ref> where the only vehicles allowed are [[Carriage|horse-drawn vehicles]], bicycles, [[tractor]]s, and battery-powered buggies for elderly or disabled people. [[Electric bicycles]] were deregulated in the 2019 Midsummer [[Chief Pleas]] with the ordinance coming in to force on 4 July 2019.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Official Report of the Midsummer Meeting of Chief Please of the Island of Sark
| url = http://www.gov.sark.gg/downloads/agendas_and_minutes/2019_agendas-minutes/190703_hansard.pdf
| access-date = 6 August 2019}}</ref> Passengers and goods arriving by ferry from Guernsey are transported from the wharf by tractor-pulled vehicles.

There is no airport on Sark, and flight over Sark below 2400&nbsp;ft is prohibited by the ''Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Guernsey) Regulations 1985'' (Guernsey 1985/21). The closest airports are [[Guernsey Airport]] and [[Jersey Airport]]. Sark lies directly in line of approach to the runway of Guernsey airport, however, and low-flying{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} aircraft regularly fly over the island.

==Religion==
[[File:Church - Sark.jpg|thumb|[[St Peter]]'s Church ([[Anglican]])]]

In common with the other Channel Islands, Sark is attached to the [[Anglican]] [[diocese of Salisbury]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofengland.org.gg/about |title=History and Constitution |publisher=Guernsey Deanery |access-date=14 August 2020}}</ref> Catholics depend on the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth]] in England.

Sark has an [[Anglican]] church (St Peter's, built 1820) and a [[Methodist]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci-methodist.org.uk/Sark/index.htm |title=Sark Methodist Church |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214041431/http://www.ci-methodist.org.uk/Sark/index.htm |archive-date=14 December 2007 |access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref> church. [[John Wesley]] first proposed a mission to Sark in 1787. Jean de Quetteville of Jersey subsequently began preaching there, initially in a cottage at Le Clos à Geon and then at various houses around Sark. Preachers from Guernsey visited regularly, and in 1796, land was donated by Jean Vaudin, leader of the Methodist community in Sark, for the construction of a chapel, which Jean de Quetteville dedicated in 1797.<ref>''Methodism in the Channel Islands'', Moore, London, 1952.</ref> In the mid-1800s there was a small [[Plymouth Brethren]] assembly. Its most notable member was the biblical scholar [[William Kelly (Guernsey and Blackheath)|William Kelly]] (1821–1906). Kelly was then the tutor to the Seigneur's children.

Supported by the evidence of the names of the ''tenements'' of La Moinerie and La Moinerie de Haut, it is believed<ref>{{cite book|last1=McCormack|first1=John|title=Channel Island churches : a study of the medieval churches and chapels|date=1986|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester, Sussex|isbn=0-85033-541-8}}</ref> that the Seigneurie was constructed on the site of the [[monastery]] of Saint [[Magloire]]. Magloire had been [[Samson of Dol]]'s successor as bishop of [[Dol-de-Bretagne|Dol]], but retired and founded a monastery in Sark where he died in the late sixth century. According to the ''vita'' of Magloire, the monastery housed 62 [[monk]]s and a school for the instruction of the sons of noble families from the [[Cotentin]]. Magloire's [[relic]]s were venerated at the monastery until the mid-ninth century when [[Viking]] raids rendered Sark unsafe, and the monks departed for Jersey, taking the relics with them.

==Law enforcement==
Despite Sark having its own legislative assembly, Guernsey has sole responsibility for matters of criminal law under the Sark (Reform) Law 2008. For matters of extreme law enforcement the island calls upon the [[States of Guernsey Police Service]]. Sark has a small police station and jail, with two (rarely used) cells available.<ref name="Caesar" /> The island has several police officers permanently stationed on it, the constable (senior officer), the vingtenier (deputy constable), two assistant constables (former constables), two custody officers (special constables) and several special constables.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Sark also has access to police services in Guernsey through the designation of a member of the Guernsey Neighbourhood Policing Team as a dedicated point of contact for Sark constables.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guernsey.police.uk/article/103535/Neighbourhood-Policing-Team |title=Neighbourhood Policing Team |publisher=Guernsey Police |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2018}}

==Emergency services==
[[File:The emergency ambulance on Sark.jpg|thumb|Tractor-drawn emergency ambulance on Sark]]

A resident doctor provides healthcare on Sark, and is available to attend accidents and emergencies. The '''Sark Ambulance Service''' operates two tractor-drawn ambulances,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sarksurgery.com/sas.html |title=Sark Ambulance Service |access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref> and is able to treat casualties and transport them to the harbour for transfer onto the Guernsey marine ambulance launch, ''Flying Christine III'', operated by [[Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service]]. A small ambulance station houses the two ambulances.

Fire and rescue services are provided by an independent and volunteer service established in 1958. Originally named 'Sark Fire Brigade', it is now known as the '''Sark Fire and Rescue Service'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sarkfireservice.org.gg/index.html |title=Sark Fire Service |publisher=Sark Fire Service |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> The services operates two pump tenders and an all-purpose trailer; all three appliances are drawn by tractors owing to the ban on other motor vehicles on Sark. The original fire station was a large garage. Today the service operates from a large purpose-built fire station on La Chasse Marette.

Lifeboat services are provided by the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] from the [[Saint Peter Port Lifeboat Station|Guernsey lifeboat station]], supported by the RNLI stations on Jersey and Alderney.

==Sport==
{{See also|Rugby union in the Bailiwick of Guernsey|Sark football team}}

Participation in sport tends towards individual sports rather than team sports, but the population supports a cricket team, a rugby union team and a [[association football|football]] team.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/jersey/content/articles/2005/06/24/ig05_sark_feature.shtml |title=Sport – Sark |publisher=BBC Jersey |date=22 June 2007 |access-date=7 December 2012}}</ref> Sark competes in the biennial [[International Island Games Association|Island Games]] in which the [[Sark football team]] has participated. The annual Sark to Jersey Rowing Race is contested by teams from both bailiwicks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/7591672.stm |title= Guernsey dominate Sark to Jersey |work=BBC News – Sport|date=1 September 2008 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> [[Carl Hester]], who was brought up in Sark, won a gold medal at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in the [[Equestrian at the 2012 Summer Olympics|Individual and Team Dressage events]].<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/18557810 | work = BBC Sport | title = London 2012: Team GB dressage team announced by BOA | access-date = 8 August 2012| date = 22 June 2012}}</ref> A Sark [[2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes|post box was painted gold]] to celebrate the event.

==Sark in media==
There are many examples of media taking Sark as an inspiration or setting.

===Norman literature===
Although there is no record of literature about Sark in Sercquiais, [[Guernésiais]] and [[Jèrriais literature]] has included writing about Sark; for example by such authors as [[Edwin John Luce]],<ref>''La Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey'', 24 August 1910</ref> [[Thomas Alfred Grut|Thomas Grut]],<ref>''La Gazette de Guernesey'', 18 July 1925</ref> [[George F. Le Feuvre]],<ref>''[[Jersey Evening Post]]'', 15 August 1969</ref> and [[Denys Corbet]].<ref>''Le Bailliage'', 10 September 1892</ref>

===English literature===
* [[Algernon Charles Swinburne|Algernon Swinburne]] wrote a poem, ''In Sark'', which appears in the collection ''A Century of Roundels''.
* [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s ''[[Sir Nigel]]'' (1906) includes a sub-plot where Black Simon of Norwich, a man at arms travelling with Sir Nigel Loring to war, obtains permission from Sir Robert Knolles to go ashore to Sark under cover of darkness. He takes his friend the archer Samkin Alward with him and beheads the (so-called) King of Sark in payment of a wager.
* [[William Arthur Dunkerley|John Oxenham]] wrote ''Carette of Sark'' (1907) and ''The Perilous Lovers'' (1924), historical novels largely set on Sark. His 1910 novel ''A Maid of the Silver Sea'' uses the mines of Little Sark as its setting.
* The novel ''[[Mr Pye]]'', by [[Mervyn Peake]], is set on Sark. The book has been adapted for radio and television. The TV series, filmed on Sark, starred [[Derek Jacobi]] and [[Judy Parfitt]], and featured a number of islanders. Peake lived on the island for several years as a painter before he began writing. The setting of his best known novels, the ''[[Gormenghast (series)|Gormenghast]]'' series, may have been inspired by Sark.
* ''Dame of Sark'', the memoirs of the 21st Seigneur [[Sibyl Mary Hathaway]], who was present during the German occupation, were made into a play and television drama of the same name.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911448,00.html?iid=chix-sphere|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215060322/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911448,00.html?iid=chix-sphere|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 December 2008|quote=Nearly all 560 subjects of the medieval fiefdom of Sark gathered last week around a gnarled oak tree in their parish churchyard to mourn Dame Sibyl Mary Collings Beaumont Hathaway, 21st Seigneur of Sark. |title=Death of a Dame|date=29 July 1974|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=11 December 2008}}</ref> Dame Sibyl also wrote ''[[Maid of Sark]]'', an historical romance published in 1939; set in the sixteenth century, it incorporates events related to the defence of the island against the Bretons.
* The novel ''[[Appointment with Venus]]'' by [[Jerrard Tickell]] is set on the fictional island of Armorel, which is presumed to be based on Sark. The 1951 [[Appointment with Venus (film)|film]] of the book used Sark as a principal location.
* [[Bill Hopkins (novelist)|Bill Hopkins']] 1957 novel ''[[The Divine and the Decay]]'' (republished in 1984 under the title ''The Leap'') is set primarily on a fictional island named Vachau. It is believed that Sark was the inspiration for this island. Hopkins went to Sark as part of his research for the novel.
* [[Sarah Caudwell]]'s ''[[The Sirens Sang of Murder]]'' (1989) is partly set in Sark, and contains references to John Oxenham's ''The Perilous Lovers''.
*''The Last Kings of Sark:'' ''A Novel'' by [[Rosa Rankin-Gee]] is a 2015 coming-of-age story set in Sark. 
* The 2016 novel ''Iron Chamber of Memory'' by [[John C. Wright (author)|John C. Wright]] is set in Sark.
* In the 2025 novel [[The Hallmarked Man|''The Hallmarked Man'']] in the [[Cormoran Strike|''Cormoran Strike'']] series the lead characters visit Sark.

===French literature ===
[[Maurice Leblanc]]'s horror/mystery novel {{Lang|fr|L'Île aux Trente Cercueils}} (translated in English as ''The Secret of Sarek'') features an island called Sarek, off the coast of Brittany, which bears obvious similarities to Sark.

===In music===
Irish musician, composer and singer [[Enya]]'s 2015 album ''[[Dark Sky Island]]'' was inspired by Sark's designation as the first 'dark sky island'. Certain songs on the album, the title track especially, explore the stars, skies and nature.<ref name=HUFFPOST15>{{cite web|title=Enya On Her First Album In Seven Years And The Secret To Her Success|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/enya-interview-dark-sky-island_us_562003b3e4b0c5a1ce62a506|work=The Huffington Post|first=Julia|last=Brucculieri|date=2 November 2015|access-date=3 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Enya talks about Dark Sky Island – Enya.sk|url=http://enya.sk/2015/10/enya-talks-about-dark-sky-island/|website=enya.sk|date=13 October 2015 |access-date=14 October 2015}}</ref>

Dutch electronic musician [[Legowelt]] released a three-track 12" single named after the island, "Sark Island Acid", on the American record label [[L.I.E.S.]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sark Island Acid|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2915964-Legowelt-Sark-Island-Acid|website=discogs.com|access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref>

===Television===
{{More citations needed|section|date=November 2018}}
* The 1986 television adaptation of ''[[Mr Pye]]'' by [[Mervyn Peake]] and starring [[Derek Jacobi]] was filmed on the island. The original novel is also set on Sark.
* Sark featured in the 6th episode of the fourth series of ''[[The New Statesman (1987 TV series)|The New Statesman]]'', ''The Irresistible Rise of Alan B'Stard''.
* Part of the seventh episode of the second series of [[World War II]] television drama ''[[Enemy at the Door]]'' takes place in Sark. [[La Coupée]] features in a number of scenes.
* Sark, and in particular the Gouliot Caves, features in episode 8 of series 3 of the BBC television series ''[[Coast (TV series)|Coast]]''.
* Sark was featured in Episode 3 of the 2009 [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] television series ''[[Islands of Britain (TV series)|Islands of Britain]]'', presented by [[Martin Clunes]].
* Series 7 and 8 of the [[BBC Two]] six-episode television series ''[[An Island Parish]]'' follows the Anglican priest and Methodist minister on Sark. It was first broadcast in 2013<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nzqzp|title=Series 7, An Island Parish |website=BBC Two|access-date=13 January 2019}}</ref> and 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03qgtzn|title=An Island Parish, Series 8 – Sark Winter, Tis the Season|website=BBC Two|access-date=13 January 2019}}</ref>
* One of the episodes of ''[[Bergerac (TV series)|Bergerac]]'' called "Burnt"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Bergerac|title=Bergerac|date=9 March 2018|website=The Island Wiki|access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref> was mostly filmed on Sark. ''Bergerac'' was a Jersey-based BBC and Australia's [[Seven Network]] detective drama starring [[John Nettles]], filmed between 1981 and 1991. The episode featured a fight on and over the edge of La Coupée.

==See also==
* [[Seigneur of Sark]]
* [[Archaeology of the Channel Islands]]
* [[Philip Morrell Wilson]] – American, operated the fraudulent Bank of Sark

==References==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|33em}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Parry |first1=Jonathan |author1-link=Jonathan Parry |title=Life on Sark |journal=[[London Review of Books]] |date=18 May 2023 |access-date = 7 June 2023 |volume=45 |issue=10 |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n10/jonathan-parry/life-on-sark}}
*{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Eric |title=Operation Basalt: The British Raid on Sark and Hitler's Commando Order |publisher=The History Press |date=2016 |isbn=978-0750964364}}
*{{cite book |last=Kursner |first=Geoffroy |title=L'île de Sercq: Histoire du dernier état féodal d'Europe |publisher=Éditions du Menhir |date=2015 |isbn=978-2-919403-27-1}}
*{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Henry |title=The Sark/Brecqhou Dyad: Jurisdictional Geographies and Contested Histories |journal=Shima |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=89–108 |date=2015 |url=http://www.shimajournal.org/issues/v9n1/i.%20Johnson%20Shima%20v9n1%2089-108.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.shimajournal.org/issues/v9n1/i.%20Johnson%20Shima%20v9n1%2089-108.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Henry |title=Sark and Brecqhou: Space, Politics and Power |journal=Shima |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=9–33 |date=2014 |url=http://www.shimajournal.org/issues/v8n1/d.%20Johnson%20Shima%20v8n1%209-33.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.shimajournal.org/issues/v8n1/d.%20Johnson%20Shima%20v8n1%209-33.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live}}
*{{cite book |last=Rivett |first=Peter J. |title=Sark: A Feudal Fraud? |publisher=Planetesimal Publishing |location=Devon |date=1999 |isbn=0-9534947-2-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Hawkes |first=Ken |title=Sark |publisher=Guernsey Press |location=Guernsey |date=1995 |isbn=0-902550-46-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Karbe |first=Lars Cassio |title=Das politische System der Insel Sark. Modelle europäischer Zwergstaaten – die normannische Seigneurie Sark (Sercq) |publisher=Frankfurt am Main |date=1984 |isbn=3-8204-7483-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Coysh |first=Victor |title=Sark: The Last Stronghold of Feudalism |publisher=Toucan Press |location=Guernsey |date=1982}}
*{{cite book |last=Barnett |first=A. J. |title=The Constitution of Sark |date=1977}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ewen |first1=A. H. |last2=de Carteret |first2=Allan R. |title=The Fief of Sark |publisher=Guernsey Press |location=Guernsey |date=1969}}
*{{cite book |last=Sack |first=John |author-link=John Sack |date=1959 |title=Report from Practically Nowhere |pages=26–42 |publisher=Curtis Publishing Company |location=New York |title-link=Report from Practically Nowhere }}
*{{cite book |last=Toyne |first=S. M. |title=Sark: A Feudal Survival |publisher=The Shakespeare Head Press |location=Eton, Windsor |date=1959}}
*{{cite book |last=de Carteret |first=A. R. |title=The Story of Sark |publisher=Peter Owen Limited |location=London |date=1956}}
*{{cite book |last=Cachemaille |first=Rev J. L. V. |title=The Island of Sark |date=1928}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sark}}
{{Wikivoyage|Sark}}
* [https://sarkgov.co.uk/ Government of Sark webpage]
* {{cite web|url=http://guernseyroyalcourt.gg/article/3087/Sark|website=guernseyroyalcourt.gg |title=Sark – Guernsey Royal Court|date=4 August 2011 }}
* [http://sarkparishchurch.org.uk/ St Peter's Sark]
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Sark|volume=24|page=220}}


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{{Channel Islands}}
{{United Kingdom constituents and affiliations}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Car-free islands of Europe]]
[[Category:Sark| ]]
[[Category:Geography of the Channel Islands]]
[[Category:Parishes of the Channel Islands]]
[[Category:Dark-sky preserves]]
[[Category:Islands of the Channel Islands]]
[[Category:Road-inaccessible communities of Europe]]
[[Category:Non-sovereign monarchy]]
[[Category:Autonomous administrative divisions]]